By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, A reporter
PHILIPPINE infrastructure spending is down for the fourth time in the month of October, as funds paid to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) continue to decline amid corruption scandals and bad weather.
The latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed spending on infrastructure and others fell by 40.1% to P65.9 billion in October from P110 billion last year.
Month-on-month, it also decreased by 16.2% from R78.7 billion in September.
October is the fourth month in a row that spending has fallen on an annual basis, since a 25.3% drop in July following a corruption scandal involving flood control schemes.
This scandal has reduced the economy and public spending, especially on infrastructure.
The DBM said the year-on-year decrease in infrastructure spending is “mainly due to the decrease in the amount paid by the DPWH.”
The DBM noted that the slow release of the public works budget was caused by “the non-dispatch of billions of contractors during the ongoing verification of the status of the implementation and completion of flood control projects.”
The DPWH is in the midst of a corruption scandal after department officials, lawyers and contractors were accused of receiving incentives for non-existent or substandard flood control projects.
Pending issuance of final payments due to delays in obtaining Bureau of Internal Revenue Tax Clearance by contractors also resulted in a decrease in payments, DBM said.
Contractors must obtain a revised tax permit prior to final payment of any government contract; otherwise, the contract may be suspended.
“(These include) delays in the renewal of Philippine Contractors Association Board (PCAB) contractors’ licenses, which affected the submission of contractors’ progress costs and subsequent processing of payments,” the Budget department said.
Bad weather also weighed on the release of DPWH’s infrastructure budget, DBM said.
Economist Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Michael L. Ricafort said political uproar over infrastructure projects, especially flood control, reduced spending in October.
10 MONTHS PERIOD
In the first 10 months, all infrastructure and capital expenditures stood at P943 billion, down 13.7% from P1.09 trillion last year.
This accounted for 62.33% of the P1.51-trillion annual plan.
“The spending of agreed infrastructure funds since the beginning of the DPWH’s flood management problems, has resulted in delays in the payment of the progress of the costs of its completed infrastructure projects,” the DBM said.
Data from the DBM showed that total infrastructure disbursements, which include the infrastructure components of government grants and equity in public companies and transfers to local government units, decreased by 11.5% to P1.13 trillion at the end of October from P1.28 trillion last year.
Throughout the fourth quarter, DBM said lower infrastructure spending is expected to continue to weigh on overall government spending.
At the same time, the DPWH is strengthening efforts to deal with corruption issues by creating a transparent portal that provides information on the agency’s projects.
The DPWH is also suspending faulty flood control projects due to poor planning, as well as eliminating duplicative projects.
In the coming months, Mr. Ricafort said infrastructure spending is expected to resume in early 2026 as part of the government’s spending plan.
“In the coming months, infrastructure spending may continue considering the spending plan in early 2026, depending on the prioritization of the policy on anti-corruption measures/reforms and other changes to improve governance standards,” he said in a Viber message on December 26.
Economic managers stressed that the drop in costs is temporary as reforms and investigations are carried out.
Total government disbursements reached P4.91 trillion at the end of October, up 3.9% from P4.73 trillion at the same time last year. This represented 80.8% of the P6.08-trillion full-year spending plan.
